1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to optical imaging devices such as digital still cameras and video recording cameras, and more specifically to such a device or system which is attachable to the scope of a hunting rifle or other weapon to record images viewed through the scope. The present optical system enables a hunter or other person to view the image through the scope by means of a partially silvered mirror which reflects the image to the optical recording device, or through the viewing lens of a television video microcamera affixed to the eyepiece of the scope.
2. Description of the Related Art
Over human history, hunting has evolved from a necessary part of life to an enjoyable hobby or pastime for many people. While very few people need to hunt in order to provide food for themselves or family, many hunters still enjoy the challenge of the hunt and the thrill of taking a game animal.
In many cases, a hunter may not wish to kill the game he or she is hunting, but may only wish to have a record of a successful hunt, i.e., a hunt culminating in an encounter with the hunted animal which could have resulted in the taking of the animal had the hunter so desired. In other cases, it may not be legal to kill a given animal due to its status as an endangered species, certain geographical and/or seasonal limits, previously reached bag or quota limits, etc. Nevertheless, the hunter will still enjoy the thrill of the hunt, only to be frustrated that he or she cannot take the animal being hunted.
Even in those instances where a hunter is attempting to take an animal, it can be difficult in the field to confirm the accurate placement of a given shot. While all hunters make every attempt to make a killing shot the first time, this is not always the case due to movement of the animal and/or hunter, deflection of the bullet due to wind, brush, etc., and/or other factors. A wounded game animal must be tracked down and killed, and often the hunter has difficulty determining the exact placement of the shot in order to determine the likely outcome of such a situation for recovering the wounded animal, i.e., making an educated guess as to how far the animal might travel and its likely reactions to the wound.
Also, in many cases a hunter will be certain that the shot was accurate, only to find that the shot went astray or only wounded the animal. With no means of recording the sight picture through the scope, the hunter can never be absolutely sure of the accuracy of a given shot.
Accordingly, a need will be seen for an optical imaging system or device which captures the image viewed through the scope of a rifle or other hunting firearm or weapon, for later viewing. The present invention provides various embodiments of such a device or system, and enables the hunter to view the image provided at the eyepiece of a firearm scope simultaneously with the recording of that image, either by still or motion video recording means. The optical image may be viewed directly by the hunter by means of a partially silvered mirror at the eyepiece of the scope, allowing the hunter to view the image through the scope while still reflecting that image laterally to a camera, or may alternatively be viewed through the display screen of a microcamera placed at the eyepiece of the scope.
A discussion of the related art of which the present inventor is aware, and its differences and distinctions from the present invention, is provided below.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,290,219 issued on Sept. 22, 1981 to Hans Boller et al., titled xe2x80x9cTarget Sight Recording Apparatus,xe2x80x9d describes a mechanism for attaching an xe2x80x9cinstantxe2x80x9d camera (e. g., Polaroid, tm) to the eyepiece end of a firearm scope. The optical axis of the camera is offset by about 90 degrees to that of the scope, with a partially silvered mirror or the like reflecting about half of the image of the scope to the camera, with the remaining image being visible through the eyepiece of the scope.
Boller et al. further provide a relatively complex system for recording a series of four images on a single sheet of film. The present device does not use photochemical means for recording the images, but rather uses electronic means and thus is not concerned with the recording of multiple images upon a single sheet of photochemically receptive film. Moreover, the Boller et al. device is devoid of any electronic means of operation, and uses a mechanical linkage between the gun trigger and the camera. In contrast, the present device utilizes completely electronic means for connecting the optical recording means with the trigger of the firearm, and moreover provides a supplemental switch for recording the image visible through the scope when actuating the firearm trigger is not desired.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,835,621 issued on May 30, 1989 to John W. Black, titled xe2x80x9cGun Mounted Video Camera,xe2x80x9d describes a specially constructed structure for holding a video camera, with a firearm scope mounted to the structure through which the video camera is aimed or sighted. The Black device is not at all a firearm; the gun barrel and action of the device are not operable. Moreover, the barrel is axially offset from the central portion of the structure, where the firearm action would normally be located, unlike the concentric arrangement of components in a conventional firearm. In contrast, the present invention provides means for recording the optical image viewed through the firearm scope of an actual firearm (hunting rifle, etc.). It is also noted that Black provides a view for the operator only by means of an axially offset viewfinder for the video camera, rather than allowing the operator to sight through the scope, as in the present invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,287,644 issued on Feb. 22, 1994 to Bruce L. Bolduc, titled xe2x80x9cCamera Rifle Organization,xe2x80x9d describes an apparatus using a rifle-like stock with a vertical camera passage formed therein, for removably holding a conventional camera using photochemical film. As in the apparatus of the ""621 U.S. Patent to Black discussed above, the Bolduc apparatus (a) does not use an actual firearm, as does the present invention; (b) uses a mechanical camera actuating system, unlike the electrical actuation used in the present invention; and (c) the simulated firearm structure cannot be used as such when the camera apparatus is removed, whereas the present invention attaches removably to a conventional firearm which may be used as such either with the optical imaging system attached or removed from the firearm.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,711,104 issued on Jan. 27, 1998 to Geoffrey W. Schmitz, titled xe2x80x9cSmall Arms Visual Aiming System, A Method for Aiming A Firearm, And Headgear For Use Therewith,xe2x80x9d describes a system wherein the imaging receiver is attached to and aligned with the firearm axis, as in the present device. However, the visual image is not aligned with the firearm, but is remotely located therefrom in an article of headgear (helmet, etc.) worn by the user of the firearm, unlike the present invention. In this manner, the user of the firearm need not expose his or her head or upper body to align the firearm, but may remain concealed while viewing the image aligned with the firearm. No automatic trigger actuated switch for actuating the video apparatus is provided by Schmitz; the video apparatus must be actuated by a separate switch.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,887,375 issued on Mar. 30, 1999 to Jerry W. Watson, titled xe2x80x9cCamera Mount For Firearms,xe2x80x9d describes a structure for mechanically attaching a video camera to the scope of a hand held firearm. However, Watson (a) does not provide any automated means of actuating the video camera when the firearm trigger is pulled; (b) does not align the video camera with the optical axis of the scope to view the image provided by the scope; and (c) does not provide the same image to the user of the apparatus as that provided at the eyepiece of the scope. The present apparatus responds to each of the above problems by aligning the optical recording device with the eyepiece of the scope, and also providing automatic actuation means for the optical system when the firearm trigger is pulled.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,932,872 issued on Aug. 3, 1999 to Jeffrey H. Price, titled xe2x80x9cAutofocus System For Scanning Microscopy Having A Volume Image Formation,xe2x80x9d describes a camera system in combination with an optical microscope. A dichroic mirror allows passage of predetermined light colors or frequencies to a viewer, while reflecting other frequencies to a camera for recording the image. The camera and microscope of the Price system are integrated with one another; the camera cannot be detached, as in the present system. The Price system is not adaptable to a firearm, nor is any means provided for automatically actuating the camera system when another event (e.g., firing an attached firearm) occurs, as provided by the present optical imaging device with its firearm scope attachment and multiple triggering or actuating means.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,938,717 issued on Aug. 17, 1999 to Jeremy G. Dunne et al., titled xe2x80x9cSpeed Detection And Image Capture System For Moving Vehicles,xe2x80x9d describes a laser speed detection system with optical camera. While the Dunne et al. system allows the laser unit to be actuated manually as well as automatically, there is no such provision for operating the optical camera. Rather, the camera may only be actuated automatically when the laser detector triggers operation of the camera. No firearm is provided with the system, for obvious reasons, and correspondingly, no telescopic sight is provided with the Dunne et al. system.
U.S. Pat. No. Des.-332,457 issued on Jan. 12, 1993 to Clyde L. Zepp, titled xe2x80x9cCamera For Mounting On A Rifle Scope,xe2x80x9d illustrates a design for a camera body which is mounted in the scope body, in series with the optical lenses of the scope. No means of electronically recording or displaying any images obtained, nor of automatically triggering the operation of the camera by actuation of the firearm, is apparent in the Zepp design.
Finally, British Patent Publication No. 2,248,287 published on Apr. 1, 1992, titled xe2x80x9cSighting Device,xe2x80x9d describes an alignment system for adjusting the view for the elevation of a gun in a turret, as opposed to the present device for use with hand held firearms. No means for recording images or scope attachment is provided. Moreover, no trigger system for actuating any form of optical recording device is provided.
None of the above inventions and patents, either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed.
The present invention comprises an optical imaging device for attachment to the magnifying scope sight of a hand held firearm. The present apparatus attaches to the eyepiece of the scope and receives magnified visual images which pass through the scope. The person using the firearm may view the image through the scope attachment, either by means of a half silvered mirror which reflects a portion of the image to an electro-optical recording device (digital camera, video recorder, etc.) or by means of the viewing screen of a video micro camera secured to the eyepiece of the scope. The system is actuated automatically for a predetermined time or number of frames when the trigger of the weapon is pulled, by means of a microswitch positioned behind the trigger. Alternatively, a secondary switch may be provided at some convenient location for the user of the weapon to actuate the optical system without firing the weapon, if so desired.
When the present optical imaging device is properly adjusted with its associated scope and firearm, it provides a hunter with an accurate sight picture of the aiming point of the firearm when the trigger is pulled, thus eliminating much of the guesswork in sighting in a weapon and/or determining the precise placement of a bullet in a hunted animal if the animal is wounded. Images may be viewed essentially immediately after creation by the review and/or playback functions associated with such equipment, with the shooter viewing the images through the eyepiece viewing screen or other viewing means associated with the optical or video recording system.
Accordingly, it is a principal object of the invention to provide an improved optical imaging device for firearm scope attachment, for recording the visual image received by the firearm scope at the time the optical system is actuated.
It is another object of the invention to provide an improved optical imaging device wherein the imaging device and hunter or shooter both receive the same optical image as viewed from the eyepiece of the scope, with the viewing eye of the hunter or shooter being aligned with the optical axis of the scope.
It is a further object of the invention to provide an improved optical imaging device with an optical recording means which may comprise a digital still camera or a video recorder.
An additional object of the invention is to provide an improved optical imaging device which optical recording means may be offset from the optical axis of the scope and receive a reflected video image, or which may comprise a micro camera secured to the eyepiece of the scope and optically aligned therewith.
Still another object of the invention is to provide an improved optical imaging device which may be incorporated integrally with a firearm scope and firearm, as desired.
It is an object of the invention to provide improved elements and arrangements thereof in an apparatus for the purposes described which is inexpensive, dependable and fully effective in accomplishing its intended purposes.
These and other objects of the present invention will become apparent upon review of the following specification and drawings.